Second annual review update preliminary risk assessment of federally protected species at the Los Alamos National Laboratory

• Main Authors: Gonzales, G.J., Gallegos, A.F., Foxx, T.S.
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: 05 NUCLEAR FUELS; NUMERICAL DATA; E CODES; RISK ASSESSMENT; METALS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; RADIOISOTOPES; ENDANGERED SPECIES; INFORMATION SYSTEMS; BIRDS; LANL; peregrine falcon
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/658263; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/658263; https://doi.org/10.2172/658263

In FY96 and FY97, preliminary assessments were conducted of the potential risk from legacy waste to the American peregrine falcon (Falco peregrimus), the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and the Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida). Estimated doses were compared against toxicity reference values (TRVs) to generate hazard indices that included a measure of cumulative effects from multiple contaminants (radionuclides, metals, and organic chemicals). The tools used included a custom FORTRAN code ECORSK, and a geographic information system. The assessments originally included only the soil ingestion contaminant pathway. Since the initial assessments, a food consumption contaminant pathway has been added, bioaccumulation and biomagnification of some contaminants have been factored into the food consumption pathway, and some of the TRVs against which estimated doses are compared have been changed to values which relate more closely to the Aves taxonomical class. With these and other more subtle improvements in model input parameters, ECORSK has been revised and the model has been re-executed for the owl and peregrine exposure units that originally generated the highest risk indices. This report contains the updated results. On average, results indicate a small potential for impact to the peregrine falcon, but no appreciable impact to the spotted owl nor the bald eagle. The original reports cited in this document should be consulted for details on methods.